It’s The No-Girlfriend Rule‘s book birthday (in the US) today, so what better way to celebrate than with an interview with the author! And if you’re in the UK, you’re doubly in luck because there’s barely two days left to wait for its release here! Wins all around, we think.
Quickly, before we start with the interview, remember you can also keep up with Christen on twitter!
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I knew I wanted to be a storyteller, at least. For as long as I can remember, that’s the way I kept myself entertained—telling myself stories in my head. But I’m also dyslexic, which is a type of neurodivergence that can make it more difficult to read and write, both of which were especially challenging for me when I was learning how to do them. I had all these stories hanging out in my brain, but a very hard time getting them onto the page. So the first story I told was probably when I was very, very young, but the first story I remember writing down was in third grade. It was about a cat who captained a boat and sailed around looking for treasure.
What pieces of media would you say were formative for you? Do you see any of their features in your own writing?
The first books I remember reading and thinking critically about were Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman, which I picked up at the book fair in fifth grade. They were the first times I was exposed to badass girls as main characters, and they fully blew my ten-year-old mind. I also grew up in the age of truly superb teen movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and Ever After. My love of writing about girls being brave and standing in their truth comes from those places, I think.
Also, fully nerdy confession here: I grew up roleplaying on forums—like, full-on fandom literary nerd OCs (that’s original characters, for people who had offline social lives as kids)—so my formative writing sources were other kids my own age. We’d write epic adventures and swoony romances for our characters together, taking turns adding a little bit to the story at a time. I shamelessly credit the folks I wrote with then for my foundation in writing characters people care about. I had to, to keep up with my writing pals!
When you close your eyes and imagine an apple, what do you see? An actual apple, a sketch of one, a blackness? Do you think that impacts your writing process?
I see absolutely nothing. It wasn’t until embarrassingly recently that I learned this isn’t the norm for everyone! All this time, I was just hanging out thinking “the mind’s eye” was a figure of speech. But no, apparently I have something called aphantasia, so when I “envision” things it’s not actual visualization, just sort of a conceptual understanding of how things look. I do think that influences the tools I need for writing. I use a lot of visual references when I can. Also, as dorky as it sounds, I end up blocking things out physically if I need to—if I’m having trouble imagining how an action looks, for example, I just do it so I can feel it in my body and then translate it to the page. I’m sure it’s amusing for anyone who happens to glance through my office window while I’m drafting.
If you wanted to learn about craft, which three authors would you suggest reading?
Leah Johnson‘s story craft is exceptional, so I suggest anyone looking to learn about plotting to read literally anything she writes. Rainbow Rowell writes characters that feel incredibly real—and weird, and wonderful—on the page, so her books are a wonderful place to start for that. I’m also a big fan of reading graphic novels to think about unexpected ways of telling stories, and one of my absolute favorites is N.D. Stevenson. Even just his newsletter is a great lesson whenever it shows up in my inbox.
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
I write mostly contemporary, so I have a lot of the framework built in when I am writing, especially because I like to write stories in the places where I live. But when I’m thinking about what parts of the world are important to bring to the story, I always come back to character—what my main character might notice about their world and why. A lot of my world building is actual vibes building—the feeling of the place, the way it smells, the perception my main character has about who might fit in there or who might stand out. Those sorts of details make the world feel alive and important, because they’re those things for the character.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I can’t spill too many beans, but I am working on my second contracted book. It’s a queer, neurodivergent love story and I am so, so excited to get to share it soon.
Three pictures that capture the aesthetic of your book?
Three songs you would put in your book’s soundtrack?
No spoilers, but playlists are kind of a thing in the book. If I had to pick three songs:
I Like Giants by Kimya Dawson.
real date by Insignificant Other.
girls by girl in red.
What would be your dream project?
I drafted this queer YA contemporary romantasy a few years ago that I can’t get out of my head. Being able to do that as a duology would be a dream. And if Dungeons and Dragons or Critical Role ever want someone to write some really joyful, queer, big-feelings romance stories in their worlds, I fully volunteer as tribute.
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Without a doubt, Fran. That girl is unstoppable.
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa*.
No Filters and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado.
Homebody by Theo Parish.
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
Maybe this is cheating a little because I’ve had the chance to do it once before, but I would love to collab with some of my fellow nerdy queer YA authors and do a tabletop actual play stream to benefit a queer organization like the Trevor Project or my local Pride center, NKY Pride Center. Off the top of my head, I think a party of me, Jonny Garza Villa, Aiden Thomas, Jamie Pacton, and Rosiee Thor would be sublime.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christen Randall (she/they) draws on her experience growing up fat, queer, and neurodiverse in the American South to write the books she never had for the next generation of kids who need them. Their work is about geek culture, fat acceptance, mental illness and disability, queer identity, classism, music as a love language, and cats without being about those things.
She studied English at Middle Tennessee State University. In 2021, she was selected as an inaugural mentee of The Write Team Mentorship Program. Since then, they have centered community in their authorship, volunteering with such organizations as Diverse Voices, Inc., We Need Diverse Books, and NaNoWriMo.
Christen lives in Covington, Kentucky by way of Nashville, Tennessee with too many books and not quite enough shelves. They can most often be found bopping around town playing Pokémon Go and getting coffee, starting craft projects they may or may not ever finish, and at the gaming table roleplaying as bratty rogues or spooky wizards. Find her online on most socials @bycrandall. The No-Girlfriend Rule is her debut novel.
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*Please note: some of the titles mentioned here are published by St. Martin’s Press or an imprint. As there is a boycott in progress against this publisher, we have elected not to include links here.
